The Merman's Eye
by La Blonde Sirene
Summary: Harry's, Hermione's, and Ron's friend Imogene suffers from strange symptoms, but this is more than an illness. It goes back to an ancient story about the Greek gods and will change all of their lives... Written for those who think there aren't enough me
1. A Lazy Afternoon

A Venereal Gift

Disclaimer: All of the characters appearing here belong to Jo Rowling. With the exception of one or two, who I came up with. And the Greek Gods, who belong to.. the Greeks!

Author's Note: I hate back story. I really do. Probably from reading Dickens. At any rate, I do not want to bore you to tears with my version of how my character, Imogene, came to be at Hogwarts School. So, for the sake of brevity, she has always been there. A Gryffindor, like the other three heroes. I'm sorry if this confuses anyone, but none of Rowling's characters seemed to fit this one. And I don't like Mary Sues, either. Call it an Alternate Universe story, if you like. And noooow.. on with the story!

Imogene audibly sighed. The other three turned to look at her, following her languid gaze to the window, which portrayed a beautiful summer day.

"Another gorgeous day, wasted. Really, what is the point? We spend most of our young lives staring out of that window and not actually doing anything about it!"

Hermione, not one for putting up with Imogene's daily complaints, stopped her speech short.

"Maybe if you worked a little harder, you could finish sooner and then spend the rest of your time outside?" she suggested.

"Maybe if I worked a little harder, I might wind up miserable and depressed, to say the least! Honestly, we need some fresh air and sunlight. It does a person wonders!" she retorted.

Harry and Ron looked on bemused at the girls, both of whom were annoyed at the other. Imogene wrinkled her nose in distaste, while Hermione chose to simply raise her book higher, obscuring her face and her scowling mouth. Their work was continued without any further outbursts or inquiries from either side, although Imogene continued to sigh throughout, causing Hermione's hand to twitch every so often.

The two had always been competing, in a friendly way. Hermione was smart. If she studied anything for long enough, it would click. Imogene could study the same subject for days longer, but it would never come to much use. She was witty enough, however, which made up for her poor memory. Imogene was also very much an introvert. She preferred her own company to anybody else's, and often found her friends to be poor company, terribly oppressive.

On this day, for example, Imogene wanted nothing more than to wander out by the lake on her own, drinking in the sunshine. (Although not too much: Her fair skin quickly turned red and her freckles would stand out even brighter across her nose if she was in the sun for too long, making her look both red-faced and spotty. Not that it mattered much. She was rather plain either way.)

She finished scribbling down what words came into her mind, whether they were related to the homework or not, then took leave of her friends, telling them that she would meet them later.

Once outside the doors of the stifling castle, she set off at a run towards the lake. The reflections of the trees in it were beautiful, while the shade of the trees would keep her out of the direct sun.

She looked back on the castle and mused quietly. She knew that she was not popular. With the exception of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, she had no real friends. Nobody took the time to notice her, which she was grateful for, if anything. She was happy, she thought to herself, no matter what she might have felt to the contrary.

Quietly, she walked over to the willow that stood by the lake and sat under it, the branches falling around her like a blanket. She started humming, a little French ditty that she had heard some time ago, but which had remained in her head, forever rearing up when her mind wandered. Her vision became unfocused and she lazily sat back, glad to be rid of work, company, and all the other things that might have annoyed her.

Her friends could tell you that once Imogene unwound like this, nothing in the world mattered to her. It was a shame, because if she had focused her eyes back on the lake, on a shadow in one of the shadiest parts, she would have seen a figure, and perhaps avoided all of the trouble to be recounted.

And that was the first chapter. Short, but I hope not hideous. Review, s'il vous plait!


	2. Trouble Begins

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to Jo Rowling, WB, and everyone else who has managed to get their hands on it…

Chapter Two

Thus her friends found her, mumbling softly in her sleep under the tree. It had quickly gotten late and after completing what assignments remained, Hermione suggested to the boys to go look for her. It was not exactly difficult to find her, as she usually went to the same place to be alone.

"What, what, _what_?" Imogene finally queried after being nudged by Harry for the twelfth time.

"How long have you been out here?" he questioned, in lieu of a response.

"Oh, I don't know," she snapped, finally rising to her feet. "I suppose it's getting late?"

"Couldn't you tell?"

"You know I never keep track of the time."

As the four started to head back to the school, Imogene violently jerked her head around, her eyes searching frantically for something.

"What's wrong?" Ron cut in.

"I… Did you see… Never mind," she quickly finished.

"See what?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I thought I saw someone. But, it must have been my imagination. I'm tired, that's all," she finished with a smile. It quickly turned into a grimace of pain. "Ooooww. I must have fallen asleep right under the sun."

"Sunburn? Again?"

"Yes, again. It's not my fault I'm pale!"

Slowly and wearily, they trudged back towards the castle. Harry and Ron headed straight for the Great Hall and their dinner. Hermione had also started in that direction, but decided to go towards the dormitories when she saw Imogene heading that way.

"But aren't you hungry!" Ron stared incredulously.

"Not really," they chorused back. "We'll meet you after you eat."

"Fine by me," the boys returned. As soon as Hermione and Imogene had their backs turned, they dashed towards the tables, loaded with food.

"Alright, tell me. Right now," Hermione demanded as soon as they got up to the dormitories.

"Tell you what?" Imogene turned towards her, her eyes wide and innocent.

"You know perfectly well what."

"Do I?"

"Look, you're my best friend. Why won't you tell me what's bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me! Where did you get that idea?"

"Because you jump at every sound, your appetite, usually enormous by this time of day, is completely gone, and you look very pale, despite the fact that you have been out in the sun all day and should, at least, look red."

"That's all you are worried about?" She laughed weakly, then sat down on her bed.

"Well, yes. Harry and Ron may not have noticed, but I certainly did. It's just not like you. Did something happen?"

"I went out. I fell asleep. You woke me up. That is all. Honestly."

"At the very least, tell me what you heard by the lake," she finally pleaded.

"A splash. But how unusual is that? Just a splash. By a body of water. Completely common!"

"Did you see anyone before you fell asleep?"

"Hermione, don't be ridiculous. You act as if someone is stalking me!"

"You never know…"  
"Who would want to stalk me! I'm not pretty, I'm not famous, I'm not rich.."

"So? If there is a crazy person on the grounds-"

"Diving into the lake to avoid being seen?"

"And he.. That is.." She trailed off, realising that her argument now seemed quite ridiculous.

"Nothing's wrong, ok? And if it was, you would be the first to know, trust me."

"I'll hold you to it," Hermione replied. For now, she was somewhat mollified. For now...

The next morning dawned like a golden heap of misery and weariness on Imogene, who hadn't been able to sleep all night. As soon as she would close her eyes, images of strange faces and places filled them. Terrified, she had sat on the edge of her bed, eyes wide open, staring straight ahead. Perhaps she would keep her promise to her friend. She didn't know what else to do.

"Hermione," she nudged her gently. "Hermiiiione..."

"What is it? I'm up!" True to her word, she jolted upright and found herself looking into the frantic face of Imogene. The sunburn had faded from her nose, but her cheeks were bright red, as if from a fever. "Oh no, what's wrong?" she added quickly.

"I...I'm scared, Hermione. There's something wrong, I just know it. You might have been right. I think someone was watching me."

Hermione did not even feel like gloating. Her friend's face was so pathetic and her hands were shaking.

"The important thing," she quickly commanded, "Is to get some rest, I think."

This suggestion only alarmed the "patient" more.

"No! That's when I see him! Or it! Or...I don't know... I didn't sleep all last night because that is what I see when I close my eyes. Shadows... of somebody or some_thing_."

"Then maybe we should go up to the infirmary?" she suggested.

"I suppose.." Imogene still had her misgivings. There was something seriously wrong! And she had a feeling that no amount of magical medicine would be able to fix it.

The head nurse had seen her share of sick girls and boys. She could treat practically every problem, usually quickly and painlessly. She also had a knack for figuring out exact diagnoses for her patients. However, the girl that tottered into the hospital wing on Tuesday morning on the arm of her friend was something of a mystery. She was ill and frightened, but there was nothing actually causing it. Whatever she saw when she closed her eyes were no hallucinations, since she could tell those from a mile away, nor was her problem spell-induced. The woman bade the shaking girl to lie down on a bed and paced the long aisle, wondering what it was that had caused this perfectly healthy young woman to suddenly fall ill like this.

Finally, she elected to ask the headmaster for help. After all, he was a very experienced wizard, and would know more than she could. After sending a very dismayed and nervous Hermione back to her classes, she called Headmaster Dumbledore down, on a matter of grave importance. Meanwhile, she laid a wet cloth across Imogene's feverish forehead, which only caused her to shiver more. "A mystery..." the good lady decided, after again looking to see whether this was just influenza.

"Hermione!"

An agitated voice rang out in the Great Hall as the aforementioned hurried down the steps, practically tripping down the second to last one.

"Where have you been? Where's Imogene?" Harry looked genuinely worried, as did Ron, at both the absence of one friend, and the demeanor of the other.

"She's sick. She woke me up this morning and I took her to the infirmary," the girl responded quietly. No need for the whole school to know that Imogene was unwell. "I think something happened when she went out alone yesterday."

Harry raised his eyebrows at this news, while Ron furrowed his.

"At any rate," she continued, "She is there now and the nurse has no idea what is wrong with her."

"That's never good.." Harry stated flatly.


	3. The Truth Becomes Known

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to Jo Rowling and her affiliates and the other companies that have a piece of the pie.

Chapter 3

"Could things be really quite so terrible?" Imogene wondered as she saw the grimace upon the Headmaster's face. She had just finished describing all of her ails and symptoms to him.

"I suppose I must tell you eventually," Professor Dumbledore finally said. "Now is as good a time as any."

"So you do know what is wrong with me?" she asked shakily. Did she really want to know?

"I...I do, Miss Spencer. It is actually something that has been expected, though I never thought you were going to be the victim."

"Victim!"

"I'm sorry to alarm you, my dear girl, but you must understand that you are not going to be able to stay here for much longer."

A terrible thought struck her, and she shivered in fear. "Have I been bitten by a werewolf?" she asked in alarm.

"No, no, not that. Although not too far off from the truth," he answered wearily.

"But why won't I be able to stay here?" she whimpered. The nurse looked anxious as well. She knew the girl was no better for the fear that the Headmaster's words were putting into her heart. She was a rather weak creature as it was, and the near-death sentence that he was pronouncing did nothing to improve her constitution.

"Because this will be no place for you, my dear. It has nothing to do with what I want, nor with what you want, but what _he_ wants."

"And who is "he", then?"

"Do you honestly wish to know the truth?"

"If it affects me so seriously, then yes, I do," she replied, drawing herself up from her bed.

"I do not think anybody else should know, in that case," he said, with a nod to the nurse.

She acquiesced and walked into the opposite room. Imogene, meanwhile, braced herself for the blow that was about to come.

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Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran up to the infirmary after breakfast. They could not reach Imogene quickly enough. Hermione had not eaten a thing, while the boys had eaten relatively little. They were ushered into the room by the head nurse who had shooed Hermione away that same morning. The former that the girl could use the company of her friends after the news which had drained all remaining blood from her already-pale face.

Imogene, meanwhile, sat on the edge of her bed, ready to spring out from the nearby window at any time. But she knew now that would be pointless. Any kind of suicide attempt would be pointless. The end was nigh, she thought to herself. The only problem was, the end was not nigh. For all she knew, the end would never come.

Seeing her friends only made her more worried. How would she leave without them knowing. Surely they would want an explanation of her not-too-distant disappearance.

"Imogene!" the three chorused upon entering the room. It didn't take a sensitive nurse or doctor to see that something was truly wrong with her.

She looked up listlessly, her eyes tracing their shadows on the floor. They were real. They had to be told the truth. But was now the right time to do it? Would they even ever look upon her in the same way after they knew?

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The meeting with Dumbledore had gone something like this:

"This started a long time ago," Dumbledore began. "Back when the Gods still reigned supreme. One of them, a goddess, actually, by the name of Aphrodite, was the one to start this all."

"Start what all?" Imogene immediately burst in.

"Listen, and you will know. She was in love with a human. A very handsome human, at that. The other goddesses were jealous that such a handsome man should once again be left to Aphrodite, especially Athene. She told the other goddess that she should not give herself to a human who has not yet proved himself-"

Imogene listened to all this, somewhat confused. How was a story about the Greek gods at all related to her and how terrible she was feeling now?

"The last test she proposed was clearly lethal. She was to bind him under the waters of the sea for an hour. She could not undo the wall that would form on the surface and neither could any other. Aphrodite, then still very young and foolish, did not consider the fragile state that is mortality. However, after two minutes she realised her mistake. Nervous and frightened, she panicked and did the only thing she could think of at that time. She turned her lover into a merman, as he floundered and gasped for lack of air under the water. She made him a son of the seas.

"He was now alone, however, for he was so different, and the goddess could not undo what she had done, so she granted him the opportunity to find a human girl whom he loved and take her to his new ocean home with him. He chose a lovely girl who loved both him and the sea. Aphrodite was pleased and declared that all of their male descendants may choose a human girl for a bride when they found one. Over the years, it was somehow decided between our predecessors that every 30 years, the youngest son may choose his bride from our school," he finally finished, with a sigh.

"A-and I've been chosen, is that it?" she asked nervously. Her heart was beating loudly, and a lump formed in her throat.

"Yes, Miss Spencer. I'm afraid you have been chosen. And yet, it doesn't have to be so terrible, does it? The last girl that was chosen, a Diana Trent, was quite satisfied with her new life. And you will never grow old, get sick, or die. That was one of the gifts Aphrodite bestowed on this line. Immortality, like her own."

"What do you mean, it doesn't have to be terrible! Of course it's going to be terrible! I don't want to go!" She was now becoming hysterical. "Whe-when do I have to go?" she stammered, after lying back down.

"I cannot answer that. But you will know when you must leave," he concluded, trying to keep an encouraging smile on his face. But however hopeful and kind his face was, his words were the most painful and evil that she had ever heard. She no longer belonged here.

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Please review! It's a story. That means it must be good or bad. Let me know, either way! The faster you review, the faster I will write more.


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